Author: adm1n

This estate modeled on Versailles’ Petit Trianon is one of the Greenwich architectural treasures we are honoring April 29 at the Greenwich Landmarks Recognition Program (4pm at Greenwich Country Club). Others are a Mid-Century Modern, a Tudor Revival and an 1856 church with Tiffany windows. The keynote will be by Anthony Malkin on the restoration of the Empire State Building’s iconic lobby. An afternoon not to be missed!

All photos by ChiChi Ubina.

Northway is a striking two-story mansion sited on 12 park-like acres. It was built by Laura Robinson (1872–1964), an heiress from Chicago who received permission from the French government to reproduce the Petit Trianon’s elements, with the proviso that the main staircase be erected in the opposite direction from the original.

An architectural icon and the finest example of the Classical Revival, the Petit Trianon has been celebrated by scholars for the purity of its rectilinear dimensions, the perfection of its proportions and the delicacy of its ornamentation.

Despite differences, Northway maintains the general Neoclassical look and decoration of its prototype. Its architects, J. Edwin Carpenter and Walter D. Blair, both graduates of the Ecole des Beaux Arts, adapted the original design by replicating its most imposing features and designing other elements strictly within the original’s Classical Revival style so that the entire assemblage, including the landscaping, would appear as if it were created in the 18th century. The house’s monumental facade and the dramatic approach through a sculpted allée achieve a rare symmetry that presents a formal statement unrivaled in Greenwich and beyond.

Gleaming white stucco covers a symmetrical, five-bay facade distinguished by a colossal portico of four fluted Corinthian columns. The front entrance features a pair of very tall, transomed French doors set in a molded frame surmounted by a denticulated entablature. Gleaming white stucco covers a symmetrical, five-bay facade distinguished by a colossal portico of four fluted Corinthian columns. The front entrance features a pair of very tall, transomed French doors set in a molded frame surmounted by a denticulated entablature.

A distinctive balustrade on the portico extends on either side of the front entrance. Surmounting the entire second story is a continuous entablature accented by a cornice of foliated brackets. Above the cornice is a parapet interrupted by symmetrical positioned courses of urn-shaped balusters, a design that continues around the edge of the house’s flat roof.

On either side of the facade are identical wings, essentially enclosed porches, with tall, transomed, multipaned windows. At the second story of the main block, the three-bay elevations are virtually identical, with French doors opening onto balconies. A service complex of three buildings faces a central courtyard.

The interior of Northway expresses much the same Neoclassical style as the exterior. The first story is stunningly distinguished by its 15-foot ceilings and features a curving, divided-flight, marble staircase; a marble floor and a pipe organ.

Flanking the entrance foyer are two rooms paneled with elaborate bas relief floral-designed acanthus-leaf cornices, a dining room with French doors and a paneled living room with a carved wooden mantelpiece.

Northway’s second story has five paneled bedrooms, each with a curved ceiling, an elegantly carved gilded fireplace mantel and marble surround. In 1915 Robinson married William A. Evans, a prominent New York lawyer and a director of B.F. Goodrich Rubber Co. Their home became the setting for many musicales and other entertainments, and the couple’s one child, William A. Evans, Jr., was raised there.

Tragedy struck twice in 1939, when their son died in an automobile accident just before his 24th birthday and his father died a few months later. Laura Robinson Evans remained in the house for 25 years until her death. Her will left half interests in Northway to Christ Church in Greenwich and Greenwich Hospital, of which William Evans had been a director.

Plans for demolition of the house and subdivision of the property were under way when it attracted the attention of Rene Anselmo, who restored the house and grounds to their former majesty. When he died in 2000, the property passed to his widow and then, upon her death, to their son Reverge.

People of all ages were invited to participate in the This Place Matters Photo Contest. The top three photos will be published in Greenwich Magazine, Exclusive Magazine Sponsor of This Place Matters, and displayed at the Greenwich Historical Society when its new reimagined campus opens this fall.

Photo Contest Rules

Photos must be of Greenwich, CT and include a caption that identifies the location. Caption must also explain why the place in the photo matters to the person who submitted it and/or to the person/people in the photo. All images submitted must be the work of the individual submitting them. By submitting a photo you acknowledge that the Greenwich Historical Society and Greenwich Magazine have rights use it in social media, public relations, and other uses in perpetuity; and that Greenwich Magazine may publish it. To be published in Greenwich Magazine the image must be at least 300 dpi.

Last day for submitting photos: July 6, 2018 at 5pm. Contest entries will be judged by a panel of independent judges who will pick three winners. Winners will be announced at the Greenwich Founder’s Day event at the Ferris-Feake House on July 18, 2018 at 10am.

The first 50 individuals to submit photos for the This Place Matters competition will receive priority registration for the July 18 Founder’s Day reception through June 25.

How to Participate

Snap a photo of a place in Greenwich that matters to you — be in the photo if you want or pose your friends, family, and/or pets!

Include your first and last name, the photo’s location, and identify the people in the photo. Write a sentence or more about why the place is special to you.

We invite all residents − children, students, adults and seniors − to participate in this modern documentary project by taking a photograph of a cherished place or structure in their community and sharing their story, however brief or long, about why it is important to preserve.

The Town of Greenwich has designated May Greenwich Preservation Month: This Place Matters! for the second consecutive year. The promotion and companion photo contest was kicked off at the Historical Society’s Landmarks Recognition reception on April 29 when Greenwich First Selectman Peter J. Tesei presented the official proclamation.

“I am pleased to present a proclamation from the Town of Greenwich that declares May as Greenwich Preservation Month: This Place Matters!,” said Peter J. Tesei. “Our rich architectural heritage and vast array of community amenities make Greenwich a remarkable place to live and work. It is important that we celebrate what makes Greenwich unique and worth preserving for future generations.”

We are excited to announce a new grant from the local garden club Hortulus to enable the restoration of the ornamental flower gardens, kitchen gardens, and grape arbor as part of the overall master plan for the Greenwich Historical Society’s dramatic campus transformation. The artist colony Impressionist period gardens of the National Historic Landmark Bush-Holley House provide critical interpretive information for visitors, as they convey both daily life routines (growing food provisions for the residents), as well as inspiring many subjects in the plein-air painters’ tableaux.When the reimagined campus opens in fall 2018, garden improvements will include relocation and expansion of the Impressionist-era fruit and vegetable garden that supported the Holley boarding house and the creation of a new Impressionist-era perennial flower garden along both sides of the walkway that will link the new building to Bush-Holley House and the Vanderbilt Education Center. The current grape arbor will also be replaced with a more durable structure to support the existing grape vines, some of which are 120 years old.

In generating the planting plan, Conte & Conte, which has experience working with historical landscape projects, carefully examined the historical primary and secondary sources (including Garden Calendar of Holley House proprietors Elmer and Constant MacRae for the years 1918-1919 and the additional information compiled in the Historic Landscape Report: Bush-Holley House, Storehouse and Brush Properties, 1996). For the grape arbor reconstruction drawings, David Scott Parker Architects carefully examined all physical and documentary evidence.

For the technical and careful installation of these historical landscape features, Fairfield House & Garden Company, which is the sister construction company of Conte & Conte, has been selected to carry out the work. The firm has the particular skill combination of working with sensitive landscapes as well as vast experience in the realm of sustaining the appearance of such types of gardens over time. In addition, the firm’s owners, John and Kim Conte, hold a personal interest in the success of the Society’s vision as both of their families have resided in Greenwich since the artist colony was established.

During the 30-year period from 1890 to 1920, Cos Cob and the Holley House (now Bush-Holley House) became the setting for Connecticut’s first art colony. Today, Bush-Holley House visitors can view works by Impressionist artists depicting the house and gardens.

The generous Hortulus grant will enable the Greenwich Historical Society to further its mission and long-term vision for preserving and presenting local history and art in a dynamic and beautiful site dedicated to lifetime learning, connecting us to our past and each other.

About Hortulus

Founded in 1930 and a member of The Garden Club of America, Hortulus’ mission is “to stimulate the knowledge and love of gardening and creative design; to protect, restore, and improve the quality of the environment through education, programs and action in the fields of conservation and civic improvement.”

Hortulus hosts flower shows, garden trips, workshops, and lectures, and has a long tradition of civic service. The club’s contributions include landscaping at Greenwich Library, The Mews, and the YWCA as well as grants to Nathaniel Witherell, the Greenwich Land Trust, Boys & Girls Club of Greenwich, Bruce Park, the Garden Education Center, and Greenwich Audubon. Hortulus and the Greenwich Historical Society have a long-standing relationship dating back to the Hortulus Conservation Award designed by Bush-Holley House proprietor Elmer MacRae in 1945.

Greenwich Historical Society’s Campus Reimagining

Greenwich Historical Society is in the home stretch of its Reimagine the Campus Campaign, a bold and ambitious initiative that will expand and provide better access to its facilities, and enrich its education and preservation programs. The visionary plan will enable the Historical Society to advance its mission by making a greater contribution to the cultural life of Greenwich and surrounding areas, while ensuring the preservation of its historic buildings and grounds for the future.

The new building will have a glass lobby, two state-of-the-art exhibition halls to showcase the permanent art and history collections, an expanded research library and archives, museum store, and café. The reimagined campus will welcome the community with more than double the parking and provides universal access to the entire site, including an elevator. It will enable more dynamic programming and experiences for bringing Greenwich history alive to a larger audience.

Town Students Invited to Share Hopes, Dreams, and Predictions for Greenwich in Historical Society Time Capsule to Dedicate New Campus

Greenwich Students to Join Boys and Girls Club in Creating Essays and Artwork to be Sealed for 50 Years

The Greenwich Historical Society invites students to contribute to the cultural legacy of the Town by submitting creative content for a time capsule that will become part of the cornerstone of its newly constructed museum and archive building. Affectionately named Elizabeth for Greenwich’s founding mother Elizabeth Feake, the capsule will be installed at a public event on November 4.

To enter the competition, students prepare a short essay or artwork on 8.5” x 11” paper that describes their hopes, dreams, and predictions for what Greenwich will be like in 50 years when Elizabeth will be opened. The top three submissions will be published in Greenwich Magazine, which is polling residents on what other items should be included in the time capsule. To submit ideas visit greenwichmag.com/timecapsule. Two runners up will receive a family membership to the Greenwich Historical Society.

How to Participate:

Students in Greenwich elementary, middle, and high schools enter by preparing a brief essay (1 – 2 paragraphs) or artwork on 8.5 x 11” paper that reflects their hopes, dreams, and predictions for the Town in the year 2067. Submissions should include the student’s full name, age, and school. By submitting an essay or drawing, students and parents acknowledge that the Greenwich Historical Society has rights to use it in social media, public relations, and for other promotional purposes, and that those rights can be transferred to third party media.

All entries must be received by October 30 for consideration to be inserted into the capsule along with other items that will offer a glimpse into what life was like in Greenwich in 2017.

The top three submissions will be published in Greenwich Magazine.

Dedication Ceremony on November 4, 2017

Elizabeth will be installed on Saturday, November 4 at 11 a.m. in a public ceremony at the newly constructed museum and archive building at 47 Strickland Road, Cos Cob. All participating students and their families, Historical Society members and supporters, and all Greenwich residents are invited to attend.

About Elizabeth Fones Winthrop Feake and the Founding of the Town of Greenwich

Elizabeth Fones of Suffolk, England in 1629 married Henry Winthrop, who died shortly after arriving in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Elizabeth traveled to the Colony with her infant daughter and married Robert Feake in a union that was approved by her uncle, John Winthrop, Governor of the Colony. On July 18,1640, Robert Feake and Daniel Patrick purchased what became a part of Greenwich for “25 Coates.” The 1640 deed also states that “Elizabeth Neck” – now known as Greenwich Point — was Elizabeth Feake’s “Perticaler purchase.”

Another great session of camp is coming to a close. We had four weeks of camp — two weeks for campers entering grades 4-7 and two weeks for children entering grades 2-4. Sessions for each age group featured one week of a history focus and one week of art immersion.

Here are campers in Week 1 working together in a barn raising:

They went on a field trip to the New Haven Museum and learned about the Amistad.

They also took a field trip to the PepsiCo sculpture park and created art en plein air on our campus just like the Cos Cob American Impressionist art colony did one hundred years ago. We are so lucky to have master painter Dmitri Wright instruct the budding artists so skillfully.

The campers loved learning how to weave and do embroidery work.

Younger campers also made butter, kites, molasses cookies, and horn books. Each week’s performance at the end of camp for family and friends is something the kids really enjoy.

Follow us on social media to keep up to date on our children’s programming, learn fun facts about Greenwich history and see old photos, and much more!

Do you love Greenwich, CT? What place in this town inspires you the most? We want to know!

Photos must be of Greenwich, CT and include a caption that identifies the location. Caption must also explain why the place in the photo matters to the person who submitted it and/or to the person/people in the photo. All images submitted must be the work of the individual submitting them. By submitting a photo you acknowledge that the Greenwich Historical Society has rights to use it in social media, public relations, and for other promotional purposes.

How to Participate

Snap a photo of a place in Greenwich that matters to you — be in the photo if you want or pose your friends, family, and/or pets!

Please include your first and last name, the photo’s location, and identify the people in the photo. Please write a sentence or more about why the place is special to you.

How to Submit a Photo

The photo contest is live on our Facebook page.You can submit a photo, see all the photos, and vote for your favorite one.

Contest entries will be narrowed down by criteria including popular vote and then submitted to a panel of judges who will pick five winners.

Last day for submitting photos: July 12, 2017 at noon. Winners will be announced at the Greenwich Founders’ Day event at Tod’s Point on July 18, 2017. Prizes will be awarded to the top five entries judged by an independent panel of Greenwich residents with an interest in preservation.

5 Valuable Prizes

Tickets for two adults to the Greenwich Winter Antiques Show Preview Party December 1, 2017

Tickets for two adults to the Antiquarius Holiday House Tour December 6, 2017

One annual family membership to the Greenwich Historical Society

One family pass to the Greenwich Historical Society Fall Festival October 8, 2017

A collection of Greenwich-themed books for children and adults

We invite all residents − children, students, adults and seniors − to participate in this modern documentary project by taking a photograph of a cherished place or structure in their community and sharing their story, however brief or long, about why it is important to preserve.

About Greenwich Preservation Month

First Selectman Peter Tesei issued a proclamation recognizing May as Preservation Month. Timed to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the Landmarks Recognition Program on May 7, Greenwich Preservation Month and the This Place Matters! campaign encourage residents to focus on the importance of preservation for maintaining Greenwich’s rich cultural heritage by sharing the places and stories that make Greenwich such a cherished place worth preserving.

What do Lord Byron and his daughter Ada Lovelace have to do with coining the term “Luddite” and the development of computers?

In 1812 at age 24, Lord Byron gave a speech in the House of Lords agreeing with Ned Ludd that mechanical weaving machines were going to be the downfall of humane society. Ada Lovelace, Lord Byron’s only legitimate child, was, however, fascinated by the punch cards used in creating mechanical weaving machines. As a teenager she studied these automated weaving looms on a trip through the British Midlands. Later Ada worked with Charles Babbage, creator of the “Difference Engine,” a robust calculator that computed polynomial figures; and the “Analytical Engine,” the precursor to the computer, which he started building in 1834.

Jacquard punch cards. Berlin Technological Museum (Gessler Photo)This woven silk portrait of Joseph-Marie Jacquard (1752–1834), inventor of the mechanism that made it possible for such detailed automated work, got Babbage’s and Lovelace’s minds working about how to use punch cards for other purposes.

In 1843 Ada published an article in a scientific journal discussing four points that earned her a place at the forefront of the digital revolution.

She envisioned a machine that could be programmed and reprogrammed

She thought Babbage’s Analytical Engine could be used not just for numbers but for anything that could be notated symbolically, such as music and words

She published the world’s first computer program by creating detailed instructions about a sequence of operations to give the computer

She opined that computers cannot think

Babbage’s Analytical Engine

In 1979, the U.S. Department of Defense named its new common high-order computer programming language Ada. Since 2009 the second Tuesday in October has been known as Ada Lovelace Day, when women in STEM celebrate their achievements.

Ada’s contributions are discussed in “The Innovators,” Walter Isaacson’s book, which he will be discussing April 20 in a fundraising event for the Greenwich Historical Society.

Below is a transcription of the letter in the photographs published here from artist Elmer MacRae to Constant Holley, dated February 14, 1898. MacRae was an artist, and boarder at the Holley House, which Constant helped run with her parents. Elmer and Constant fell in love, married in 1900, had twin girls in 1904, and ran the boarding house together.

Our curator Karen Frederick described the letters as such in a recent article in The New York Times: “Their letters are so lovey-dovey I can only stand reading them for a little while.” 🙂

Holley-MacRae Family Papers Box 6/96

Monday before dinner

[New York, February 14, 1898]

My darling Constant—

Monday and Tuesday have come and gone!—Saturday will soon come, my precious, then will we see each other again, and have each other for some time; until Saturday darling we must try to be patient and make the best of our time, so that by doing this each week, it will shorten the time when we can see each other and have each other for good and all time!

Sweet girl, you pass the time doing good to everybody when the opportunity offers, by making something pretty or whatever you might choose to improve your timing (Ed. ?), anything shall; keep occupied darling, and in this way the days, between our being together, won’t seem so long. There is hardly much use of me telling you this, sweetheart, I know you are always busy, always useful, always putting your time to some good account, but in this way I find the time isn’t quite so hard to bear.

In doing this both together, we are building the foundation stones of our union upon something solid. By that time we will be able, if necessity calls, to stand separation or any trial that might possibly come to us.

It will make us better men and better women.

Our beautiful and all powerful love, my darling, will carry us through everything and crown us with success and happiness to the end.

You sweet, loving girl, I worship and adore you—you’re my own true love!

Elmer sends his love to enrich her and stay by her all the time during his absence, and loves her constant companion wherever she goes or where she is.